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Welcome to the Republic Wireless Wiki The purpose of this wiki is to provide helpful and unbiased information about the Republic Wireless service and phones. Every effort has been made to provide accurate and useful information, but as this wiki is neither sponsored nor endorsed by Republic Wireless, some information may deviate from the official positions of Republic Wireless. What is Republic Wireless Headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, Republic Wireless is an innovative new carrier offering a "hybrid" cell phone communications service. A hybrid phone can place or receive calls over the Internet using VoIP (Voice-over-IP), as well as over traditional cell service. There is no service contract, and the plan offers unlimited voice minutes, texts, and data. Customers may only use phones purchased directly from Republic Wireless. Republic's VoIP software is built-in to the phone and used for calls whenever the phone has good quality Internet access via it's Wi-Fi interface. Texts and data also use Wi-Fi whenever possible. When Internet access over Wi-Fi is unusable or unavailable, Sprint's nationwide wireless network provides traditional cellular service for voice calls, texts, and data at up to "3G" speeds. The phone also receives cellular service from Sprint's roaming partners (Verizon and others), when available, at no additional cost. Proprietary software bundled with the phone automatically switches between Wi-Fi and cellular service without user involvement. Republic's low monthly cost is primarily due to preferential use of Wi-Fi Internet connections, rather than cell service. Costs are further reduced by not offering traditional telephone access to customer service or technical support. For technical issues, customers are encouraged to assist each other in online Community Forums hosted by Republic Wireless. When customers want or need support directly from Republic personnel, requests can be submitted from the Republic website (E-mail, Twitter, or postal mail requests are also accepted). Responses to support requests are sent via E-mail and may be viewed at the website. Occasionally, tech support reps will call customers to expedite troubleshooting. While Republic describes their business as "spearheading a wireless freedom movement to return value and control of the smartphone experience" (attribution or link needed), there are currently some restrictions on that freedom, in part because the service is in a beta testing phase. Among the restrictions are phone choice, as there is just one phone, the Motorola Defy XT557D. Republic has stated their intention to offer additional phones beginning in late summer of 2013. Prospective new customers should review The Complete List of Caveats to learn more about the various restrictions and limitations. Republic Wireless currently accepts customers from 47 states (Alaska, Hawaii, and New Hampshire excluded), but the phone can use cell service in all 50 states, and Wi-Fi service anywhere in the world. Outbound calling is limited to the 50 states and Canada regardless of location. Republic Wireless is a division of Bandwidth.com, founded in 1999, whose network and communications solutions power other innovative services from Google, Skype, Vonage, and many more. Learn more about Republic Wireless: http://www.republicwireless.com/about The Republic Wireless community discussions are here: https://community.republicwireless.com/welcome Help us fill out these new Pages Solving Common Problems Current Open or Unsolved Issues Feature Requests Using Google Voice with Republic Wireless RepublicWireless and your Wifi Router Latest activity Category:Browse